Playing in the Snow

It snowed for the first time about a week ago. When I woke Bailey up I told her to go look outside to see what was on the ground. When she saw the snow she was ecstatic and said, "Mom, now we get to go skiing." (We've been talking about going skiing for quite a while.) The snow melted before we went to play in it so the next time it snowed we took Bailey out to play and she LOVED it! She was throwing snow on herself and rolling around in it. It was fun to watch. Then Omai wanted to join in the fun and thought it would be cool if we buried him in the snow. I reminded him that it wasn't sand, but that didn't deter him. So Bailey and I commenced burying him with snow. When I went back inside to grab my camera he was telling me to hurry because Bailey got a little excited and started to throw snow on his face. Well, he wasn't loving that--we hurried to get his picture and he scrambled out of the snow to try and warm up. The snow fight continued more by Bailey than us, but Omai was a good sport to get snow thrown at him.

Bailey Likes to Dance

I was looking through some old pictures and found some videos of Bailey gettin' her groove on. Oh--she's so cute!

I'm So Mean

Today was one of those days that all hope of patient parenting was out the window by noon. I thought I had arranged a totally great day for Bailey (and myself) by setting up, not one, but two playdates so she could have tons o' fun with her friends and I could get work done and maybe relax for a moment. I also thought that she would be having so much fun that we could forego naptime and try to get her to bed before 10 PM. Well, the arrangements started great, but when I went to get her from her first playdate she of course refused to leave, became a limp fish when I tried to pick her up, and then punched me in the face as we walked home. (And yes, it was a balled up fist to my left jaw so "punch" is a great word to describe it).

When we got home she was put in time out, didn't stay, and my moment to relax was completely thwarted. I fed her lunch, which helped the whining subside for a while and then it was off to the next playdate. When I picked her up again, she did the limp fish thing again, but fortunately this time, no punching.

I decided to wash my car with some inspiration from the neighbors and Bailey proceeded to drench herself in cold, soapy water. For the most part she was happy until the chill set in. Once I got her all clean and warm I remembered my plan to put her to bed early. I got her all ready for bed and read stories, but as soon as I left her room she started crying (this has become a nightly ritual). I was so done with her that I closed her door and locked myself in my room--yes, I had to lock the door. She sat outside my door for about a half hour crying then finally, quiet. I thought she had probably wandered back to her room to go to sleep, but when I opened the door, there she was--curled up in a little ball asleep on the floor. I'm so mean! I carried her to bed and within 5 minutes she was up and crying again, which has been the soundtrack to this blog entry. Oh, the joy of parenting.

Out of Town

I'm going out of town this weekend with my family and Bailey is staying home with her daddy. I told her that I would be gone for a few days and asked if she would be okay. She said she would (phew). She doesn't quite understand what I've been saying though because she keeps saying things like "I wanna go ta town". Her latest was, "I wanna go out of town." I asked her where she wanted to go and she said, "To see Santa Claus." hehe

"It's a stick"

So we are sitting in the office with Bailey and drawing on her chalk board. We are quizzing her on letters by drawing a random letter on the chalk board and asking her what letter it is. Bailey decided to join in on the fun and drew a vertical line and asked us "what is this?" Nickie said, it's an L to which Bailey replied "no, it's a stick." We about died from laughing.

Angel George

Whenever we drive home along 12600 South and are close to being able to see the temple, I always tell Bailey to look for the temple and tell me when she sees it. When we were headed home tonight I told her to look for the temple and when she saw it she yelled "temple!" like she normally does. Then she said "Angel George is on top of the temple." I laughed and was awed at the things she comes up with. I corrected her and told her it was Angel Moroni on top of the temple and not George. Then she said "Heavenly Father loves you." I replied, "Yes, Heavenly Father loves us." Then she asked, "Are there toys in the temple?" I laughed again and had to unfortunately tell her no, there aren't toys in the temple.

I Love You

We took Bailey to the Riverton City parade tonight and had a really fun time. It took a while for the parade to start, but once it did, it kept going and going and going. There were lots of floats, vendors and groups from all over the valley. It took Bailey a while to warm up and start collecting the candy that was thrown at us, but once she got going, she collected quite the stash. We enjoyed snow cones (they said it was shaved ice, but it really wasn't--it was a bit disappointing), and I think my favorite were the roller skaters. I didn't even know people did that anymore. I thought the old school skates were history and roller blades had taken over the scene. No way. These roller skaters were awesome!! One did a trick where he rolled right in front of a moving car on his side. When I saw it happening, I was like, oh my gosh, that guy just got ran over by a car and his brains are going to be squished on the road. I guess it was all a big trick because he was totally fine (of course). Amazing!! One of the guys did a back flip for us too. Awesome!! I think I need to go to DI and find me a pair of roller skates--or maybe I'll just leave it to the experts.

When we arrived home, I got Bailey all showered up and ready for bed when we started to hear fireworks going off down the street. We could see just a little bit of them from my bedroom window so Bailey and I enjoyed the show for a while. Well, one of Bailey's new loves is having me pop her toes. I really just pull on each one individually and sometimes one of them pops. After we watched the fireworks, I took Bailey in her room to put her to bed and started popping her toes. She laughed and laughed. Then I asked her something like, "Is that fun getting your toes popped?" She replied, "popping like the fireworks!" Her eyes got really big when she said it. Oh, I just about died. How cute is she!?!

After I popped all her toes and fingers, I brushed her teeth while she laid in her bed--now that's the life isn't it!?! She reached over and kind of rubbed my tummy and said, "I Love You mom". She has never said that before without being prodded by one of us. It was the sweetest thing in the world and completely melted my heart.

Bedtime

Our naptime and bedtime negotiation is that I put Bailey down for her nap during the day and Omai puts her down at night. Our routine is that whoever has the most energy wrestles Bailey to get her jammies on, usually the other one wrestles with her to get her teeth brushed, we say prayers and then Omai tells her stories. These days it's almost always a story about Harry Potter who Bailey is a little obsessed with right now. I know, I know... a 2-year-old shouldn't be watching Harry Potter, but she does (we fast forward through the scary parts). They quiz each other on the character's names or the names of the pets or things that happen in the movie. Omai tries to trick her by mispronouncing a character's name or teases by saying that a bad guy is really a good guy or vise versa. It goes something like, "Harry Potter's a bad boy" and Bailey will reply very matter-of-factly, "No Dad!" "Harry Potter's a good boy!" And it goes on and on. It's really quite adorable. Omai lasts for about 5 minutes then I hear him snoring away while Bailey just lays in her bed probably thinking something like "wow, that's an annoying sound."

My Grandma

My grandma passed away today at the age of 87. I had taken Bailey to see her a couple weeks ago and she was doing pretty well. She had just had her friends over to play Bridge, which she did every Monday for probably the past 15 years. Her legs were giving her trouble though--they were all swollen and secreting fluid which meant her heart wasn't able to pump her fluids properly. My dad had said she probably wouldn't last until Christmas so I thought it would be quite a few months until she would pass away.

I got a call from my mom Friday night saying she was at Grandma's house and that she wasn't doing well. We were heading home from a wedding reception in the area so we stopped by to visit. About 48 hours before that, my grandma wasn't able to move on her own anymore so they had brought in a hospital bed where she could rest and be taken care of. When we walked in Friday she was asleep and looked very different from her perky self I had seen just a week or so before. She fell in and out of sleep and would doze off mid-sentence so we weren't able to talk to her much. We did say goodbye knowing that she wouldn't last too much longer.

We got updates from my mom or dad who went to visit her often the past couple days. Today we decided to go see her again knowing that she would probably pass away or tomorrow. We got there a little before 3 PM and she passed away soon after. My dad, Dan and Camille were all there to see her pass. It was sad and we all shed tears, but it was also a relief to know she wasn't suffering anymore--she could breath easy, walk and she probably looks like the hottie she was in her younger years (my grandma used to be a jewelry model back in the day). She is now with all those people who have gone before her and who have been waiting for her. My aunt Camille said she could almost feel what my grandma was feeling--she was at peace and she felt great! I think it was also a relief for her three children to know their mom wasn't suffering anymore and she could finally be at peace, physically and mentally.

The word that best describes my grandma is CLASS. She WAS a classy lady. I have never seen her without her hair done, her makeup on and dressed to the T. She was always proper and even held a manners class for us when we were little. She was also very proud and would tell people that if we ever did something bad to be sure we didn't tell anyone our last name. She and my grandpa had worked hard during their lives to be good people and to always do the right thing. They weren't perfect, but they lived good lives and did their best.

My grandma was a great cook and she would often invite us over for Sunday dinner with the whole family and I LOVED it. She usually made some kind of meat and always served mashed potatoes and gravy. And she always served dessert--usually some kind of cookie or cake she had made the previous week and icecream. Before each dinner she would say, "Take all you want...eat all you take." She wasn't a waster. She bought almost all her clothing at thrift stores and was quite a frugal shopper. We wondered at this because my grandma and grandpa were very well off--I guess that's why they always had money though.

In the past few years it was hard for her to have big groups of people over so we would go visit in small groups. When the great-grandkids came along we gave her the nickname GG so they wouldn't be confused with their other grandmas. She always tried to hold the babies and play with them even if it was a struggle. She would recite nursery rhymes with them and always did "Chin Chopper" to each little baby. She would even try to play catch with them or entertain them with the puppets she had downstairs in her toy box.

Conversations were pretty repetitive as her mind was slowly fading. She would ask about family members over and over and she would compliment me on Bailey saying, "You're never going to have a child as bright as her." I would just smile and say something like, "Yep, she's a good little kid." I was always surpised though at her amazing memory. She couldn't remember what you had just told her, but she could tell you what each of her children and grandchildren were up to. She also had an amazing talent for telling stories and reciting things she had learned. She had participated in bookclubs ever since I could remember and she really enjoyed learning new things. She was a smart lady!

Goodbye grandma. I love you very much and appreciate all your service to me and my family. You will never be forgotten.

Spray It Out

Bailey was helping me clean the tub today. When I said it was time to spray it out, she went and grabbed her purple spray bottle we use to do her hair and commenced "spraying out" the tub. What a good helper!

Lunch?

Bailey is carrying on a conversation through the window with the yellow tractors down the street working on the new highway. She's made them lunch and offered them play-doh and coloring. How could they resist!

My Little Helper

Bailey has become my little photography assistant. I took her with me to take pictures of our little friend Addison who recently turned one and Bailey was such a huge help. Bailey sat down next to Addison when we started taking pictures to help Addison feel comfortable and to give her the low-down on the whole cake-smashing thing.

Then throughout the shoot she would talk to Addison and say, "Look at Nickie," "Look at Nickie, Addison." It was quite adorable and very helpful. Addison also got to smash her cake all over and Bailey had a hard time watching Addison have all the fun. So when Addison was done with her cake and was getting all cleaned up, Bailey got to have her turn at the cake--her little helper's reward. She earned it!

To see pictures of Addison's cake smashing, click here.

Daddy-Daughter Date

Omai and Bailey just left for the evening on their first daddy-daughter date. They were both so cute! I got Bailey all dressed up in a pink frilly shirt, her new white sparkly sandals, and a braid in her hair. Omai got dressed up too. I'm not sure where they were headed but I think McDonald's Play Place was on the agenda. I love my family!

And just because it's always fun to have pictures, here are a few from Bailey's Valentine's Day photoshoot.

Photoshoot and the Dentist

I recently started a new job at the Steal Network as a product editor. I create the pages that are emailed out everyday through BabySteals.com and KidSteals.com. I am able to work part time and almost entirely from home. I am LOVING it so far! It's like putting together a puzzle and I have to go find all the pieces and see what I can come up with. One fun perk is that they need kids to model some of the products that are going to be featured soon. I took Bailey in last week to model a few things and she loved it. She was quite the doll. Here she is modeling a little poofy skirt--she was dancing and dancing as the photographer took her picture.

She also got to model these cute shoes and she was completely ecstatic to be able to sit in the pink chair.

What a fun time!

Bailey also went to the dentist for the first time today. I had been talking to her about it all week trying to prepare her. I told her the dentist was a doctor for your teeth to make sure your teeth are healthy and to make sure they don't fall out (that's the story we often have to use to get her to let us brush her teeth). When we got there she immediately thought the fish tank was the coolest thing ever and also discovered a little play room. Tangled was also playing on the big screen so I thought it would be easy peasy. Well, ONE HOUR later we finally got called back and it was just in time too because Bailey was about ready to have a melt-down. She wanted a bouncy ball in the machine that only takes tokens from the dentist AFTER he cleans your teeth. When we started to walk back to the exam area the almost melt-down switched gears and she decided she was done with the dentist's office and bolted for the door. I picked her up trying to avoid her flying fists and discovered another fish tank that distracted her. Phew! The nurse laid her down on the chair and turned on How to Train Your Dragon and I thought we were set, except she didn't want the headset on and she didn't want to lay down. When the nurse came to clean her teeth though Bailey was so good. She laid there so calmly and didn't make a fuss at all. She was a little hesitant when the dentist came over and asked for a high-5. She wasn't having it, but after he cleaned, flossed, and brushed her teeth with her new pink Dora toothbrush she was handing out high-5's all around. She practically hopped out of the dentist's office and talked about the dentist all day. She prayed about the dentist, told me stories about the dentist and went through our whole family saying that each person goes to the dentist. I would say she's a fan. Good thing because we get to go back in 6 months.

Daddy's Shoes

Bailey loves wearing big people shoes. She usually tries to wear mine, but occasionally she'll attempt Omai's shoes. It's pretty adorable.

Snow Storm

For Christmas Omai bought Bailey got a snow brick maker. He had always wanted one as a kid so he thought Bailey would love it. We tried it out for the first time during one of our latest storms--Omai made a pile of snow while I made the bricks and Bailey proceeded to stomp on every single one of them. She thought it was great fun but she didn't last very long because it was pretty cold and it got dark fast.









She refused to keep her gloves on and was a little shocked at the cold when she kept falling over.

Cereal and Butter

Let me just preface this by saying this isn't an announcement or anything, just bathtub conversation with Bailey.

I asked Bailey today if she wanted a little brother and she replied, "no". I asked her if she wanted a little sister thinking she just didn't want a brother, but she replied "no" to this as well. I asked her a few minutes later again if she wanted a little brother and she replied with "cereal". I guess she really doesn't want another sibling--I just had to be sure she wasn't in a "no" mood and would reply "no" to everything I asked.

But later I asked her if she wanted something to eat and she said "butter". I said, "You want to eat butter?" She said, "ya". I said, "ok". "Butter it is". Then she said, "sister". I finally clued in that she was saying "brother" and not "butter". So I guess she will be accepting of a little brother or sister. Phew.